Tier 2 Notes by Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank)

Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank) eyes issuance of P3 billion worth of 10-year Tier 2 notes in February next year as it gears up for acquisition binge.

PSBank president Pascual Garcia III, in a briefing Friday, said they have submitted their application for Tier 2 issuance to central bank’s policy-making Monetary Board (MB).

“We’re firming up our position to acquire (banks) and hopefully we get it (Tier 2 notes issuance approval) this month if they’ll still approve applications this time of the year,” he said.

Garcia said they had mandated ING Bank as underwriters for the notes issuance.

As of last September, the bank posted a one percent year-on-year improvement in their net income after it reached P1.55 billion.

Return on Equity (ROE) of the Metrobank Group’s thrift bank in the first nine months this year stood at 16 percent and loans and investments interest revenue jumped by P880 million, which in turn, countered the P831 million drop in trading income.

Garcia said that they did not really need additional cash as their earnings remained robust.

He said they would only issue Tier 2 notes, or supplementary capital, because of their acquisition plan.

He said they were “not worried” about their Tier 1 capital or the core capital since they grow “very well continuously because of our earnings.”